My little space to share my love for books, cupcakes and the handmade world, with some of my photography from time to time!

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

COVER REVEAL for Memories of Ash by Intisar Khanani!!

Hello guys!! I know it's been a while since I've been around here, but my laptop has been pretty pissy and I decided to take the time to be online less and read more (to be said in the same way that Mr Burr tells Hamilton to talk less, smile more).

Buuut today I’m very excited to have Intisar Khanani on the blog today, after adoring her debut book Thorn, revealing the
cover for her newest novel Memories of Ash.
This cover was designed by the amazing Jenny of Seedlings
Design Studio. There's also a Kindle Fire giveaway, so make
sure to scroll down to the end of the post to enter.

Now I leave you guys with Intisar answering a few questions and of course with the utterly gorgeous coverrr!!

Describe Memories of Ash in 3 words.

Walk with courage.

What compelled you to write your first book?

I
always wanted to write a novel, so my senior year of university I
decided I’d better buckle down and try. I chose a fairy tale (The Goose
Girl) to give me an over-arching plot and narrative structure, and then
went to town with it. I really wrote it as an exercise to test myself,
not intending to do anything with it when I finished. But, by the time I
finished, I loved my characters so much that I ended up working through
over a dozen revisions to take it from “writing exercise” to my debut
novel, Thorn.

If you could live in one of your books, which one would you choose?

Definitely
the world of the Sunbolt Chronicles. Sunbolt
follows Hitomi, a street thief with a propensity to play hero when
people need saving, and her nemesis, the dark mage who killed her
father. Although there is a lot of darkness in Sunbolt, there’s also a
lot of light. It’s a real world, in its way, and I love the diversity
and vibrancy of the cultures and creatures that populate it. I’d have my
choice of living in a tropical island sultanate reminiscent of historic
Zanzibar, or among the nomadic desert tribes that eke out an existence
alongside the cursed Burnt Lands, to name my two favorite options. Then
again, in Memories of Ash, there’s the decaying
grandeur of the capitol of a fallen empire that feels a lot like an
Istanbul of old, right at the heart of the Eleven Kingdoms. Plus, I
wouldn’t mind having shape-shifting friends and charms to keep my bread
from burning.

What authors, or books, have influenced you?

As
a young duckling, I imprinted on Tamora Pierce and Robin McKinley's
earlier works. I read pretty widely, but those are the authors I kept
coming back to, especially McKinley’s Damar books. I am also an
incorrigible Jane Austen fan, but my books don’t reflect that very much!

What are you reading now?

I
just finished “Kingdom of Ruses” by Kate Stradling. In a kingdom where
the eternal prince who rules is just a ruse kept up by the prime
minister’s family (and most recently, Viola, our heroine), keeping the
peace is a delicate thing. Enter a stranger who manages to take the
place of the doppelganger the family uses, and Viola has her hands full.

Your first reaction to the cover in GIF format.

And here it is...

In
the year since she cast her sunbolt, Hitomi has recovered only a
handful of memories. But the truths of the past have a tendency to come
calling, and an isolated mountain fastness can offer only so much
shelter. When the High Council of Mages summons Brigit Stormwind to
stand trial for treason, Hitomi knows her mentor won’t return—not with
Arch Mage Blackflame behind the charges.

Armed only with
her magic and her wits, Hitomi vows to free her mentor from unjust
imprisonment. She must traverse spell-cursed lands and barren deserts,
facing powerful ancient enchantments and navigating bitter enmities, as
she races to reach the High Council. There, she reunites with old
friends, planning a rescue equal parts magic and trickery.

If
she succeeds, Hitomi will be hunted the rest of her life. If she fails,
she’ll face the ultimate punishment: enslavement to the High Council,
her magic slowly drained until she dies.

A Special Treat For Those Who Pre-order...

Not
only is the pre-order of Memories of Ash on sale for only
99 cents, but anyone who buys the pre-order will receive
a free digital art print of Hitomi by
artist Grace
Fong. Just email your proof of purchase to
moapreorder@gmail.com!

Haven't read Sunbolt
(Book 1) yet? It's been knocked down to just 99 cents to
celebrate the release and is available at most major e-retailers. That's
two fantastic books for less than a cuppa joe.

About Intisar Khanani

Intisar Khanani grew up a nomad and world traveler.
She has lived in five different
states as well as in Jeddah on the coast of the Red Sea. Until recently,
Intisar wrote grants and developed projects to address community health
with the Cincinnati Health Department, which was as close as she could
get to saving the world. Now she focuses her time on her two passions:
raising her family and writing fantasy. Intisar's current projects
include a companion trilogy to Thorn, featuring the heroine introduced
in her free short story The Bone Knife, and The Sunbolt
Chronicles.